1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fan system for vehicles and a method for controlling a fan in vehicles.
2. Description of the Related Art
A wide variety of motor-driven vehicles (e.g., electric vehicles, hybrid motor vehicles, fuel-cell powered vehicles) is known and each of such vehicles usually includes a battery for powering the driving system of the vehicle and a fan system for cooling the battery since its capacity (performance) may otherwise decrease with increase in the temperature of the battery while charged and discharged repeatedly.
Japanese Laid-opened Patent Application No. 2000-100481 discloses a battery assembly for electric vehicles which enables the efficient use of space while ensuring a good cooling efficiency. This battery assembly has a battery case in which battery chambers are formed, battery modules each displaced in the battery chamber, and fans mounted on the lid of the battery case. This battery assembly is fixed to the bottom side of the chassis frame of the vehicle.
According to this art, each battery module is cooled by each fan, which provides a good efficiency in cooling the module and prevents variations in temperature among the battery modules.
However, once such a battery assy has been mounted to the bottom side of the chassis frame of the vehicle, for example, during an assembly or maintenance of the vehicle, it is impossible to visually check the electric connection of each fan, and therefore a worker can not check if the fan is correctly connected.